Bending-machine.



No. 801,496. PATENTED OUT. 10, 1905. J J. WOOD.

BENDING MACHINE APPLIOATION FILED MAY 9. 1904 3 SHEET$SHEET J.

I 5 HI I INVENTOR WITNESSES: ?/ZZ/ 4 l Q 7 ad I 2 U by Anmvzew, Li K No. 801,496. PATEN'I'ED OUT. 10, 1905. J. J. WOOD. BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1904.

3 SHEETSSHEIIT 2.

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES: 7/334 No. 801,496. PATENTED OCT.10, 1905. J. J. WOOD.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 3 INVENTOR:

WITNESSES: WM,

' views of the former employed.

JAMES J. WVOOD, OF FORT \VAYNE, INDIANA.

BENDlNG-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed May 9, 1904:. Serial No. 207,176-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES J. WVoon, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Fort lVayne, in the county of Allen and State of .lndiana, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Bending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention aims to provide acertain improved machine whereby a bar or other piece of metal may be bent very quickly and very accurately to a desired shape. The machine is especially adapted to the bending of magnets, in which it is important to avoid flaws in the steel, especially at the corners, where the sharp bends occur. This purpose is accomplished by pressing the work against a former and shifting the pressure gradually along the work from end to end to press it to the contour of the former. The bending is preferably accomplished by means of a pressure member which is longitudinally stationary (though arranged to yield laterally) and a movable former, the Work being held fixed upon the former, so that as the former moves the work is carried from end to end into position for engagement by the pressure member, the pressure being thus shifted along the work to bend it to the shape of the former. Preferably the former is a rotating block which engages one end of the work and rotates with it under a pressure-roller held down upon the work with a strong but yielding pressure. The work is thus subjected to an action somewhat similar to that of the bars in a rolling-mill.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a machine designed to bend'bars into a special shape used as a magnet in one of the Wood type of \vattmeters.

Figure 1 is a plan of the principal parts of the machine. Fig. 2 is a section approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are respectively end, front, and top Fig. 6 is a section approximately on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1, showing the stripper advanced and in engagement with the work. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the complete machine, including the driving mechanism. Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate details.

Referring to the drawings, A is a rotary former, and B a pressure member which bears upon the former or upon the work carried thereby, yielding to the shape of the former, but being otherwise stationary. The pressure member, for example, may be a lever pivoted at C to a rigid arm of the frame of the machine and held down upon the work by means of a heavy weight or series of weights D or a strong spring E and preferably by both, as illustrated. The lever B may conveniently be made of a pair of bars, as illustrated in Fig. 1, between which are carried the bearing-roller F, the pin G for supporting the weight, and the pivoted block H for supporting the spring.

The former A is carried upon a rotating head J which is rotated by a suitable back gearing K, whichit is not necessary to describe in detail, since it forms no part of the invention, but which is illustrated as a whole in Fig. 7and in partin Fig. 2. The head is provided with bolt-holes, the former being bolted thereto, as by bolts L, thus permitting the making of the former of special metal and the use of formers of different shapes. The former shown is for shaping a bar into substantially an oblong with its ends overlapping and slightly separated at about the center of one of the longer sides. The former is provided with a means for engaging the forward end of the bar during the bending operation. Preferably this consists of a groove or slot M, into which the forward end of the bar N is thrust, so as to be held by the former as it rotates. The working face at the end is elevated sufficiently to lap one end of the work over the other. The side and end edges of the former are preferably made somewhat concave, so that after the work has passed under the pressurelever its slight spring will restore it to exactly the desired shape, this depression beingshown most markedly at 0. Fig. 4. Upon the formera projection P is preferably provided upon which the pressure-lever rides at the completion of one operation and which thus lifts and holds the pressure-lever off the rearward end of the work to permit the work to be stripped from the former. A stopsuch, for example, as the flange Qis preferably provided on the former for guiding the work, and notches R are made in this flange at intervals to permit the introduction of stripping hooks or fingers to the rear of the work to strip the same from the former.

For directing the work properly in the beginning a gage S is preferably provided consisting of a pair of uprights on each side of a standard T, Fig. 7, and between which the end of the work distant from the former is held so that the work lies in the plane of the former, resting upon the top of the standard IIO - the former.

T. As soon as the former has commenced to rotate to give the first bend to the work anda lock is preferably provided comprising a swinging arm W', having at its free end'a re- "cess, Fig. 9, which is entered by a lug X on the head J when the former is in its proper starting position. A rod Y is connected to the locking-lever W and extends upward to an arm on the lever V. Consequently when the clutch-lever V is thrown intothe clutching position the locking-lever W is lifted to permit the rotation of the head and with it The clutching-lever is thrown to its unclutching position at the endof the operation, and the locking-leverflVV drops upon the head J. The rounded end of the locking-lever is engaged by the projection X and lifted until theprojection comes under therecess in the lever, when the latter dropsupon it and holds the head from further movement.

- Means are provided for very quickly and conveniently stripping the work from the former. A sliding rod Z carries at its inner end three hooks or fingersa, the relative positions of which are indicated best in Fig. 6. The outer end of the rod Z is connected to a hand-lever b, by means of which it may he reciprocated to first move the fingers a inward until the hooks on their ends pass over the work and engage the rear edge thereof, Fig. 8, whereupon the lever 72 is swung outward and the fingers a pull the work off the former and drop into a suitable receptacle.

The operation of bending a bar may be very quickly accomplished with this apparatus. The bar havingbeen previously heated, if necessary, is brought up to the machine and itsforward end insertedin the groove M of the former with its rear resting on the standard T and alined with the gage S. The clutchlever is operated to lift the locking-lever W and start the head J. As the former rotates the pressure-roller F rolls down from the projection P against the work and bends it around the former. As the former approaches the end of the rotation the clutch on the countershaft is shifted and the lockinglever W the work and the locking-lever drops down over the projection X. The operator then gives a quick movement of the lever B inward and outward and the work is done.

A recess 0 may be provided at the end of the groove M for receiving any scale which may fall from the end of the heated bar and which might otherwise collect in the corner and prevent the bar from being pushed home.

In theoperation of the machine the pressure is shifted gradually around the work, thus avoiding the formation of small cracks at the bends which materially affect the permanency or life of the magnet. In practice the percentage of defective magnets produced is negligible.

What I claim is 1. In a magnet-bending machine, a former adapted to bend a bar to form amagnet having substantially straight overlapping ends, said former having those portions of its working face about which the ends of the magnet are bent lying in different planes, one of such portions extending above the other a distance greater than the thickness of the metal to be bent, and means for holding the forward end of the bar during the bending operation in fixed relation to the former in a plane substantially parallel to the working face thereof for the rearward end.

2. In a magnet-bending machine, a former having a working face having curved end portions, one of said end portions being wider than the other by a distance greater than the thickness of the metal to be bent, whereby the latter when bent may have substantially straight overlapping ends spaced apart from each other, and a pressure member adapted to bend the metal around said former.

3. In a magnetbending machine, the combination of a pressure member and a former having a working face one part of which extends adjacent to but on a higher plane than another part,and having a projectionP extending forwardly therefrom over the lower part of said face and having its under side spaced apart therefrom a distance approximating the thickness of the work, and having its upper side in a plane to receive said pressure member when the latter runs 01f the work.

4:. A bending-machine including in combination a former A having a groove M for receiving the end of a bar, said former being rotatable, and a pressure member arranged to bear at a point adjacent to said groove as the former is rotated, said former having a projection P above said groove M the lower face of said projection being adapted to engage the end of the bar, and its upper face being adapted to receive the pressure member and hold it out of engagement with the work.

5. The combination of a rotary former shaped to produce an article having a substantially straight side, and having its working face for such side slightly concave to compensate for the springing back of the metal, and a pressure member adapted to force the metal into such concavity.

6. In a magnet-bending machine, a former having a groove M having a fixed upper wall adapted to engage the end of a bar, said upper wall being substantially straight and extending in the same direction as the end of the magnet to be bent, and a recess aadapted to receive scale or the like, leading from said groove M.

7. A bending-machine including in combination a rotating former A having aflangeQ with recesses R, and a series of hooks arranged in front of said former, and in line with said recesses R and adapted to move inwardl5 to enter said recesses and engage the rear edge of the work and pull it off the former.

8. A bending-machine including in combination a rotating former arranged to engage one end of the work and to rotate therewith,

JAMES J. WOOD.

Vitnesses:

V. H. CRIGHToN, L. BLIss. 

